Deutsche Welle English Service News 27.03.2005, 16:00 UTC ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's highlight on DW-WORLD: Schröder: Time for Industry to Act Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took a swipe at business leaders over the weekend, telling them the government had done its part to rejuvenate the economy, now it's time for industry to step up to the plate and create jobs. To read this article on the DW-WORLD website, just click on the internet address below:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1531772,00.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In light of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2005, DW-WORLD has put together a special site marking the occasion. Our coverage looks at the effect of World War II on countries around the world and includes interviews with scholars as well as picture galleries. To view the site, please go to http://www.dw-world.de/english ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pope blesses Easter crowds Pope John Paul II has blessed crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square in Rome this Easter Sunday but he was unable to speak. The 84-year-old Pope appeared at his window after one of his senior cardinals performed Easter mass. It was the first time in his 26-year papacy that the pontiff did not preside over the Easter Sunday service. The last time he spoke in public was two weeks ago on the day he left hospital after a tracheotomy to relieve severe breathing problems. Florida judge rejects Schiavo case In the United States, a Florida Supreme Court has rejected an emergency petition to reattach the feeding tube of a severely brain-damaged woman. The court dismissed another bid by Terri Schiavo's parents to save her life, saying it had no jurisdiction. The ruling appears to exhaust options for her parents, who say allowing Schiavo to die amounts to murder. The 41-year-old Schiavo has been in a persistent vegetative state for the past 15 years. Her feeding tube was removed nine days ago after her husband won a seven-year court battle to allow his wife to die. OSCE chief in Kyrgystan The secretary-general of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has arrived in Kyrgystan for talks with the country's interim leadership. The US and Russia had called on the OSCE to monitor the situation in Kyrgystan following massive unrest over alleged vote-rigging in parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, former President Askar Akayev has been granted political asylum in Russia. Akayev fled Kyrgyzstan last week amid the mass protests. New presidential elections have been scheduled for June 26. Beirut bomb injures six A car bomb in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has left at least six people wounded. The blast in a Christian suburb late on Saturday set several buildings on fire and caused extensive damage. Officials corrected earlier reports of two deaths. The explosion was the third in Christian areas in a week and follows calls by Lebanon's mostly Christian political opposition for the country's Syrian-backed security chiefs to resign. US tortured Iraqis in Mosul - report New United States army documents have been released showing that mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US forces was more widespread than previously thought. According to an internal military report obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, American soldiers tortured prisoners systematically and intentionally at a base in Mosul, Iraq. No soldiers were court martialled for the abuse, which resulted in the death of at least one Iraqi. North Korea confirms bird flu outbreak North Korea has confirmed an outbreak of the bird flu at its poultry farms. The official Korean Central News Agency quoted quarantine authorities as reporting cases in up to three chicken farms in the capital Pyongyang. It said hundreds of thousands of chickens had been culled to contain the disease. The report said no employees had been infected. North Korea had previously declared itself free of the disease, which has swept through much of East Asia, killing 48 people and millions of birds since late 2003. Sharon wins support for budget Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has won a pledge from the key Shinui opposition party to back his budget, averting a possible government collapse. Saturday's agreement also clears the way for a Gaza withdrawal. After a meeting with the Israeli premier, Shinui party leader Yosef Lapid said concern over implementing the withdrawal and continuing the peace process was the decisive factor. Sharon needed support to get the $61 billion spending package passed to avoid early elections. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When the ball gets rolling on the first day of the second half of the Bundesliga season, it’s time to place your bets at DW-WORLD again. Bet, score and win is the name of the game. Compete with soccer fans around the world by predicting who will be up or down, how many goals and how tops the table. Return for each match day and participate in the game individually or as a team with friends and colleagues. Prove your skill at picking the winners, and if you bet correctly, you’ll be awarded with great prizes each time the Bundesliga plays. So join the fun, it’s only a click away. http://www.dw-world.de/english/kickofftip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information please turn to our internet website at http://dw-world.de/english Here you'll find out what's happening in Germany, Europe and the rest of the world. News and background reports from the fields of current affairs, culture, business and science. And of course the DW website also has information about DW-RADIO and DW-TV programmes: topics, broadcast times and frequencies. You can even listen to all programmes as audio-on-demand. Yahoo! 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